A part-time administrator who was sacked after accidentally calling a customer 'a twat' in an email has been awarded more than £5,000 for unfair dismissal. Meliesha Jones, employed by Vale Curtains and Blinds in Oxford since 2021, mistakenly sent the insult to the customer instead of a colleague in June 2023.
The incident occurred while Jones was handling a complaint from a customer who had made repeated demands for a full refund. She intended to forward the message to installations manager Karl Gibbons, writing: 'Hi Karl – Can you change this … he’s a twat so it doesn’t matter if you can’t.' However, she clicked 'reply' instead of 'forward', sending the email directly to the customer.
Shortly after, the customer’s wife called the company, asking: 'Is there any reason why you called my husband a twat?' Jones, 'shocked and upset', apologised profusely. The wife demanded compensation, threatening to go to the press and post on social media. Jones offered to pay £500 from her own pocket as a goodwill gesture.
The company’s owner, Jacqueline Smith, initially viewed the mistake as regrettable but not a disciplinary matter. However, after further threats from the customer, Smith decided to 'get rid of' Jones. A disciplinary hearing was held without interviewing Jones or the customer, and no notes were produced. Jones was dismissed for gross misconduct.
Employment Judge Akua Reindorf KC ruled that the dismissal was a 'sham designed to placate the customer'. She stated: 'I am satisfied that if a fair procedure had been followed, there is no chance that the claimant would have been dismissed.' Jones was awarded £5,484.74 in compensation.
